They say it's more accurate, but I'm thinking they compared the performance of this gun to a random sample of the mass produced version. This gun has probably gotten a lot more love and attention than the average assembly line gun.

That said, handguns have been "accurate enough" for most uses for about 100 years or so now, so maybe it's all moot.

It has to be heat treated, which is something most people don't have access to, Probably around 1500 degrees F and quenched by someone that knew metallurgy. Not really worried about this until they can get past that part.

This is just a company showing off its capabilities by making something sure to get it publicity. Their equipment is way beyond what a criminal could afford or even know how to operate. If someone were determined to make this type of gun themselves, it would probably be cheaper and faster to obtain standard machine tools and get training on how to use them.

Bigdogdaddy:It has to be heat treated, which is something most people don't have access to, Probably around 1500 degrees F and quenched by someone that knew metallurgy. Not really worried about this until they can get past that part.

I'm SHOCKED that none of the folks I've got marked as 3-D printer fanatics have shown up in this thread yet. I've got one dude marked as "Pissed his mommy and daddy didn't buy him a 3-D printed pony for his 5th birthday" who always shows up in these threads who is apparently MIA. Imagine that -- a farker who's too busy on a random Friday night to grace us with his presence.

If you read some of the comments about the machine used to print the parts I believe the fun quote from someone at solidworks was that it cost more than their four years of tution to a private university. So not exactly something easily obtained and then the engineering that went into prototyping the parts was apparently a good number of highly skilled manhours. Definitely something that is a lot more about building the business for rapid prototyped gunparts and justifying the ffl they have than anything else.

I think it is pretty neat. I know it was something they built to prove they could, and it is probably destined for a company display case. But I'd still really like to see it put through some arduous tests and side-by-side comparisons on the range.

The only parts there weren't printed were four small springs and the magazines.

I remember when magazines were printed, kindle was what you did with fire wood, and onions were sold in finer men's accessories departments in downtown stores. And guns and typewriters were made by the same company.

wildcardjack:I'm more impressed when you can print an object that has a fraction of the parts of the original and the same functionality.

It's a neat tech cause of that. Hurts my head when a new technology comes out and the 'that's stupid and pointless' people yell louder that the 'hmm I wonder how I can use this to better my life' crowd. Luddites, Luddites everywhere.

wildcardjack:I'm more impressed when you can print an object that has a fraction of the parts of the original and the same functionality.

Are you talking about a handgun or in general? There are plenty of cases where a machine needs parts with widely differing elasticity, tensile strength, conductivity, or even sacrificial or replaceable parts.

BitwiseShift:The only parts there weren't printed were four small springs and the magazines.

I remember when magazines were printed, kindle was what you did with fire wood, and onions were sold in finer men's accessories departments in downtown stores. And guns and typewriters were made by the same company.

Fubini:They say it's more accurate, but I'm thinking they compared the performance of this gun to a random sample of the mass produced version. This gun has probably gotten a lot more love and attention than the average assembly line gun.

That said, handguns have been "accurate enough" for most uses for about 100 years or so now, so maybe it's all moot.

Yeah, when it comes to 1911s you can buy something close to a Browning's original specs for $400 - $500, which had loose tolerances thus increased reliability in exchange for less accuracy. Or you can spend a few grand on a very precise highly tuned model. Considering the cost of their equipment and the time and care needed to manufacture this one, I wonder which it better compares to?

Bigdogdaddy:It has to be heat treated, which is something most people don't have access to, Probably around 1500 degrees F and quenched by someone that knew metallurgy. Not really worried about this until they can get past that part.

This gun is the proof of concept: Firearms can be produced on 3D printers that are reliable and have excellent tolerance.

The next trick will be to design a firearm that can only be produced on a 3D printer that is an improvement upon current firearms. So your 3D printed gun has to be able to outclass Colt, Glock, Smith&Wesson and a dozen others. Can it be done today, more cheaply and and and the same volume as dedicated gun manufacturers? No.

The real trick is that 3D printer can also put out car parts, machine tools, specialty measurement gear, hand tools and a dozen other metal items all to a very high level of accuracy.Once the production rate can be increased from a boutique item to mass production levels a lot of tool and die companies are going to have a lot of trouble keeping up.

I'm okay with this. This is the sort of printing system that is too cumbersome for the home, so I'm not concerned there. However, the components it creates are FAR more precise, and far more functional, while wasting FAR less. There was an article a while back that detailed the creating of a plane's door hinge by using a 3D printer. The hinge they created was just as strong, but far lighter in weight due to shed weight in portions that didn't need excess metal, and could be reinforced using methods that simply don't work by the casting methods used normally. I'm waiting for Boeing to 3D-Print an engine for a jetliner. I'm estimating it'll weigh maybe Half the size of present engines.

Bigdogdaddy:It's probably against the law to manufacture any type of pistol without a serial number. I wonder if they broke the law just by making that if it doesn't have one?

They aren't selling it or transferring it to anyone, and in the video they mentioned they were at their location in Austin where they hold their FFL. Also in the video you'll see the gun has a serial number.

vharshyde:I'm okay with this. This is the sort of printing system that is too cumbersome for the home, so I'm not concerned there. However, the components it creates are FAR more precise, and far more functional, while wasting FAR less. There was an article a while back that detailed the creating of a plane's door hinge by using a 3D printer. The hinge they created was just as strong, but far lighter in weight due to shed weight in portions that didn't need excess metal, and could be reinforced using methods that simply don't work by the casting methods used normally. I'm waiting for Boeing to 3D-Print an engine for a jetliner. I'm estimating it'll weigh maybe Half the size of present engines.

I expect parts manufacturing to continue to move over to 3D incrementally. We'll start with a product having 1-2 parts being manufactured with 3D printing and from there that number will increase. For a mass market item like a car that is a huge number of parts being kicked out annually.

I expect something as complex as a jet turbine will not be 100% 3D printed for a while. We don't have the printing capacity to manufacture items that large in the required volume.

What will be nice and interesting is that replacement parts will become much more available. If the part is on file it can be ordered, a print house will manufacture it and ship it to you. And the cost of tooling should be negligible so the cost of having one unit produced should not break the bank.